Duke basketball pledge teases huge news for Blue Devils

Per Paolo Banchero, his Duke basketball recruiting class is fixin’ to grow.

PB or PBJ, plus AJ as the refreshment. Common lunchbox combinations? Sure. But the acronyms might become the creative inspiration for some common Cameron Crazies chants come the 2021-22 Duke basketball season.

Think power forward Paolo Banchero, combo forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., and small forward AJ Griffin, all 2021 five-stars who could comprise one of the top one-and-done trios to ever lace ’em up as Blue Devils.

ALSO READ: The commitment that completely changed Coach K

At this point, though, Mike Krzyzewski and his staff hold verbal commitments from only Banchero and Griffin, who rank No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, on the 247Sports 2021 Composite. However, Banchero appeared awfully confident this week when hinting to Alec Kinsky and Alex Karamanos of The Season Ticket that another big-time name or two should soon join the club:

“We’re gonna have a great team…I’m not gonna say too much, but we got more coming on the way on the recruiting trail. So be on the lookout for that.”

Will do.

So who is the Duke basketball pledge referring to?

It’s likely Banchero is referring to Baldwin Jr., who ranks No. 1 overall among high school seniors and has long been at the center of Duke’s radar, plus five-star shooting guard Trevor Keels, who ranks No. 16 and has held a Blue Devil offer for 10 months. After all, the 247Sports Crystal Ball forecasts both snipers to end up in Durham, and each has implied a decision is on the horizon.

That said, there’s an outside chance that Banchero’s comments are in reference to one or both of Duke’s other two remaining 2021 targets: five-star small forward Caleb Houstan, who ranks No. 8, and five-star center Charles Bediako, who ranks No. 23.

Yet ever since committing to #TheBrotherhood in August, Banchero has indicated on several occasions that he is actively recruiting Baldwin Jr. and Keels behind the scenes, and both recruits have confirmed as much; meanwhile, the same can’t be said for Houstan and Bediako.

Currently, Baldwin Jr. is down to a top 10 of Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The general consensus among recruiting insiders is that the primary threat to the Blue Devils is the phenom’s namesake, Pat Baldwin, the head coach at UW-Milwaukee.

As for Keels, he has named three finalists in Duke, Villanova, and Virginia, with each seeming to have a real shot. Houstan’s final four consists of Alabama, Duke, Michigan, and Virginia; most see the Blue Devils at or near the bottom of that list. Finally, Bediako is technically still considering Alabama, Duke, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas, but Bama looks to be the clear favorite.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting news and views.